REPORT  OF  THE  SELECT  COMMITTEE 


TO  WHICH  WAS    REFERRED  THE 


PETITIONS  FOR  STATE  AID 

TO  THE 

ALBANY  AND  SUSQUEHANNA  RAILROAD  COMPANY, 


Transmitted  to  the  Legislature  January  25,  1861. 


ALBANY: 
CHARLES  VAN  BENTHUYSEN,  PRINTER. 
1861. 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durs t  Old  York  Library 


STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 


No.  17. 


IN  SENATE, 

January  25,  1861. 


REPORT 

Ot  the  Select  Committee  to  which  was  referred  the  pe- 
titions for  State  aid  to  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna 
Railroad  Company. 

The  select  committee  to  which  was  referred  the  petitions  of 
inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Albany,  Schenectady,  Schoharie, 
Otsego,  Delaware,  Chenango  and  Broome,  for  aid  to  the  Albany 
and  Susquehana  Railroad  Company,  respectfully 

REPORT : 

That  they  have  given  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  the  careful 
consideration  that  its  importance  demands,  and  in  so  doing  they 
have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  bills  granting  the  aid 
asked  for,  to  a  limited  extent,  were  passed  by  the  last  two  Legis- 
latures, to  which  the  Governor  deemed  it  his  duty  to  refuse  his 
assent,  for  reasons  which  it  is  believed  are  entirely  obviated  by 
the  bill  herewith  reported. 

Since  that  time  the  measure  has  been,  to  quite  an  extent,  can- 
vassed before  the  people  of  the  State,  and  the  present  Legislature 
brings  to  its  consideration  the  matured  fruits  of  another  year  of 
careful  examination  of  the  subject,  and  reflects  even  more  directly 
than  is  usual,  the  popular  will.  The  committee  rejoice  that  in 
the  extended  examination  they  deem  it  their  duty  to  bestow  upon 
this  important  subject,  any  error  they  may  fall  into  will  be  cer- 
tain to  be  corrected  by  the  intelligence  and  experience  of  the 
Senate. 

The  case  presented  is  substantially  as  follows: 
The  Albany  and  Susquehanna  Railroad  Company  was  organized 
in  1851,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  railroad  from  the  city 
[Senate,  No.  17.J  1 


2  [Senate  ^ 

of  Albany  through  the  counties  of  Albany,  Schenectady,  Schoharie, 
Otsego,  Delaware,  Chenango,  and  Broome,  to  connect  with  the 
New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  at  Binghamton,  a  distance  of  140 
miles.  The  section  of  the  State  it  is  designed  to  penetrate  was 
early  settled,  and  in  natural  advantages  and  the  character  of  its 
population  is  equal  to  any  other  part  of  the  State.  Prior  to  the 
inauguration  of  the  great  system  of  internal  improvements  intro- 
duced by  the  wisdom  of  Clinton  and  the  patriots  who  acted  with 
him,  and  carried  out  to  so  full  a  development  by  the  wise  policy 
of  the  people  of  the  State,  they  were  as  rich,  prosperous  and  happy 
as  any  of  their  sister  counties.  In  the  development  of  that  policy 
nearly  one  thousand  miles  of  canals  have  been  constructed  (see 
table  annexed),  and  many  hundreds  of  miles  of  railroads,  built 
either  wholly  by  the  State  or  aided  by  it  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
insure  their  completion.  That  two-thirds  of  the  State  have  thus 
been  reached  by  these  great  improvements,  and  everywhere  pros- 
perity has  followed  their  construction.  The  aggregate  taxable 
property  of  the  State  has  been  increased  thereby  from  $250^000,- 
000  to  more  than  $1,400,000,000,  at  least  $600,000,000  of  which 
can  be  traced  directly  to  the  effect  of  these  internal  improvements, 
the  county  of  Erie  alone  having  increased  in  its  taxable  property 
nearly  twenty  millions  more  than  the  entire  State  indebtedness. 
But  the  section  of  country  through  which  this  road  is  to  run  has 
been  wholly  overlooked,  and  the  anomaly  is  presented  in  the 
midst  of  all  the  general  prosperity  thus  created,  of  a  territory 
in  the  heart  of  the  State,  nearly  or  quite  as  large  as  the  whole 
State  of  Massachusetts,  embracing  an  area  larger  in  extent  than 
is  accommodated  by  either  of  the  lateral  canals,  through  which 
no  railroad  or  canal  has  been  constructed,  and  whose  only  share  in 
the  great  improvements  has  been  that  of  being  roundly  taxed  to 
help  pay  for  their  construction.  The  tax  gatherer  has  furnished 
them  their  only  evidence  that  the  State  remembered  them,  and 
the  steady  diminution  of  their  population  and  comparative  re- 
sources, has  been  the  unchanging  token  of  their  attachment  to  the 
Empire  State. 

It  is  also  alleged  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  towns 
through  which  the  road  will  pass,  worn  out  by  neglect,  and  feel- 
ing their  strength  gradually  passing  from  them,  in  addition  to 
large  individual  subscriptions, have  incurred  debts  in  their  corpo- 
rate capacity  as  towns,  amounting  to  $1,000,000,  in  aid  of  this 
work ;  that  in  addition  to  this  they  are  jointly  liable  with  the 


No.  11.] 


3 


other  towns  in  the  State  for  the  public  debt  contracted  for  their 
benefit;  that  thus,  with  less  advantages,  they  are  subjected  to 
double  burdens,  and  they  appeal  to  the  justice  and  sense  of  right 
of  the  Legislature,  to  place  them  again  upon  an  equal  footing,  by 
making  a  part  at  least  of  their  indebtedness  common  to  all. 

If  these  allegations  on  the  part  of  the  petitioners  are  well 
founded,  it  will  not  be  denied  by  any  unprejudiced  mind  that  the 
State  owes  them  full  reparation;  and  that  no  considerations  of 
mere  convenience  should  longer  delay  the  payment  of  so  just  a 
debt. 

Your  committee  have  examined  the  evidence  upon  which  these 
allegations  rest,  and  are  compelled  to  admit  that  they  are  fully 
and  amply  sustained  by  the  facts  of  the  case. 

Referring  back  to  a  period  before  the  completion  of  the  Erie 
canal,  we  find  that  in  1822  the  county  of  Otsego  had  five,  and  the 
county  of  Schoharie  three,  members  of  Assembly.  The  whole 
State  had  been  alike  open  to  settlement,  and  the  natural  advan- 
tages of  these  counties  had  placed  thjem  in  the  foremost  ranks. 
Their  population  was  about  one-twentieth,  and  their  property  one- 
tenth,  of  that  of  the  whole  State.  Those  advantages  were  such  as 
God  had  given  them,  their  citizens  had  devoloped  and  improved 
them,  and  there  was  no  reason  why,  if  cherished  equally  by  the 
State  government,  they  should  not  continue  to  occupy  the  relative 
position  they  had  attained.  Indeed,  the  chances  were  all  in  their 
favor.  The  gregariousness  of  the  human  family  leads  them  to 
herd  together,  and  alike  in  city  and  country,  other  things  being 
equal,  men  rush  most  eagerly  where  the  crowd  is  most  dense,  and 
energy  and  enterprise  find  their  most  congenial  field  where  the 
most  is  already  being  done.  Otsego  and  Schoharie  then  offered 
at  least  as  many  attractions  to  the  seekers  of  new  homes,  as  any 
counties  in  the  State. 

But  a  new  element  was  now  thrown  in  to  disturb  the  regularity 
of  their  development,  and  to  turn  the  current  of  their  prosperity 
into  other  channels.  The  great  intellect  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  read- 
ing the  future  with  a  wisdom  little  less  than  prophetic,  had  at 
last,  after  years  of  discouragement,  impressed  itself  upon  the  policy 
of  the  State,  and  the  day  of  its  triumph  was  at  hand.  But  it 
should  not  be  forgotten  now,  that  when  his  last  great  battle  was 
to  be  fought,  he  summoned  the  then  youthful  Jedediah  Miller  to 
his  aid,  and  implored  him,  with  deep  emotion,  to  use  his  influence 
and  exertions  to  bring  Schoharie  county  to  his  support.  His 


4 


[Senate 


appeal  was  not  in  vain.  Mr.  Miller  returned  to  his  constituents, 
secured  the  election  of  three  members  of  Assembly,  himself  being 
one,  in  favor  of  the  policy  of  Mr.  Clinton;  and,  to  the  end  of  that 
struggle,  he  had  no  more  efficient,  earnest  or  able  supporters,  than 
the  members  from  Schoharie.  Jedediah  Miller  and  his  associates, 
for  two  successive  sessions  of  the  Legislature,  (1819,  '20,)  helped 
turn  the  scale,  and  built  the  Erie  canal.  They  did  not  stop  to 
consider  its  effects  upon  their  own  county,  or  their  own  populari- 
ty;  they  knew  that  the  good  of  the  whole  State  required  it,  and 
those  were  not  the  days,  nor  were  they  the  men,  to  inquire  what 
influence  their  votes  would  have  upon  their  being  returned  the 
next  year.  This  same  Jedediah  Miller  yet  lives,  an  honored  citi- 
zen of  "Old  Schoharie, n  and  his  name  heads  the  thousands  of 
petitioners  that  now  ask  part  payment  of  that  old  debt,  in  aid  of 
the  Albany  and  Susquehanna  railroad.  Neither  should  it  be  for- 
gotten, that  among  all  those  who,  by  their  wisdonf,  prudence  and 
integrity,  have  done  the  most  to  develop  the  canal  interests,  and 
to  promote  the  prosperity. of  the  whole  State,  no  one  has  been 
more  appreciated  by  the  people  than  another  son  of  Schoharie, 
the  late  honored  Gov.  Bouck. 

With  the  completion  of  the  Erie  canal  the  prosperity  of  Scho- 
harie and  Otsego  were  comparatively  destroyed.  Business  sought 
channels  where  it  could  be  best  accommodated  ;  towns  and  cities 
soon  sprang  up  for  its  entire  length;  real  estate  advanced;  new 
facilities  begat  new  enterprises,  and  the  rapid  increase  of  popula- 
tion was  at  once  the  cause  and  the  fruit  of  an  advance  in  wealth, 
influence  and  power,  that  was  then  without  a  parallel.  But  this 
growth  was  at  the  expense  of  Otsego  and  Schoharie.  At  the  end 
of  twenty  years,  from  the  completion  of  the  Erie  canal,. the  canal 
counties  had  increased  $67,295,656  ;  while  during  the  same  period 
Otsego  and  Schoharie  had  actually  diminished  §775,252  in  the 
assessed  value  of  their  property.* 

In  Schoharie  and  Otsego  not  one  city  or  town  of  any  import- 
ance had  grown  up,  and  the  villages  had  diminished,  rather  than 
increased  their  business  and  population.  The  merchants  of  the 
western  part  of  the  State  received  their  goods,  and  the  farmers 
sent  their  produce  to  market  at  much  less  freight  than  those  of 
Otsego  and  Schoharie,  although  the  latter  were  little  more  than 
half  the  distance  from  New  York.  Such  causes  could  not  fail  to 
produce  their  legitimate  effects,  and  they  are  most  significantly 
manifested  in  the  Assembly  of  this  State,  where,  without  any 


t 


No.  17.]  5 

change  of  territory,  the  five  members  from  Otsego  are  reduced  to 
two,  and  the  three  members  from  Schoharie  are  consolidated  into 
one. 

If  it  should  be  alleged  that  any  other  causes  than  the  increased 
facilities  afforded  by  State  munificence  led  to  this  great  disparity 
in  growth,  it  will  be  effectually  answered  by  tracing  somewhat 
more  minutely  the  effect  of  the  construction  of  public  works  upon 
the  towTns  directly  benefited  by  them.  The  New  York  and  Erie 
railroad  passes  through  the  southern  part  of  the  county  of  Dela- 
ware. Ranges  of  mountains  divide  that  county  into  two  portions, 
one  tending  towards,  and  having  its  natural  outlet  by  the  valley 
of  the  Delaware  river,  and  through  which  the  Erie  road  was  con- 
structed, and  the  other  and  larger  portion  being  naturally  tribu- 
tary to  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna.  Prior  to  the  opening  of 
the  Erie  road,  the  northern  towns  were  the  most  populous  and 
prosperous,  the  best  adapted  to  agriculture,  and  the  most  attract- 
ive to  emigration.  In  1848  the  railroad  was  opened,  and  the 
census  of  1855  furnishes  the  data  for  a  reliable  estimate  of  its 
effects.  During  the  ten  years,  from  1845  to  1855,  the  whole 
county  gained  in,  population,  2,759.  During  the  same  time  six 
.  towns  nearest  to — and  that  had  the  benefit  of  the  Erie  road — gained 
3,586,  or  827  more  than  the  whole  gain  of  the  county,  while  the 
twelve  towns  that  belonged  to  the  Susquehanna  portion  were,  of 
course,  depopulated  to  the  same  extent.  The  State,  by  giving 
three  millions  of  dollars  to  the  Erie  road,  had  secured  its  comple- 
tion, and  the  six  towns  adjacent  to  it  had  gained  31  per  cent, 
.  B  while  the  twelve  towns  nearest  to  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna, 
not  thus  favored  by  assistance  from  the  State,  had  lost  3|  per  cent. 
During  the  same  time  the  population  of  Otsego  county  diminished 
774.  Of  that  number  the  rich  valley  towns  interested  in  the 
Albany  and  Susquehanna  road  decreased  674;  and  the  more  rug- 
ged hill-towns  of  the  north,  being  a  little  nearer  to  that  great 
central  line,  that  State  munificence  had  so  richly  endowed,  lost 
but  100. 

During  the  same  period,  the  population  of  the  county  of  Che- 
nango diminished  15.  The  five  towns  nearest  to*  and  most  di- 
rectly interested  in  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna  railroad  lost,  in 
the  same  time,  465,  while  the  central  and  northern  towns  gained 
450.  * 

From  1835  to  1855,  the  population  of  the  entire  State  increased 
from  2,174,517  to  3,466,118,  a  gain  of  over  59  per  cent.    At  the 


6  [Senate 

same  ratio,  the  gain  in  Chenango,  Otsego,  and  the  twelve  towns  of 
Delaware  should  have  been  68,958.  Instead  of  that,  their  popu- 
lation was  actually  diminished  3,435,  making  a  loss  from  the 
population  to  which  they  were  entitled,  of  72,493.  Schoharie, 
from  its  being  nearer  to  market,  resisted  longer  the  depressing 
influence  of  the  Erie  canal,  and,  up  to  1850,  exhibited  a  small 
increase,  but  in  that  year  it  was  forced  to  come  into  line  with 
the  other  sequestered  counties,  and  thenceforward  its  population 
also  steadily  diminished.  Adding  its  proportional  loss  to  the 
others,  and  it  makes  a  diminution  of  population  sustained  by  the 
counties  interested  in  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna  railroad,  as 
compared  with  the  whole  State,  of  84,301.  If  we  estimate  the 
productive  value  of  these  white  citizens  at  the  very  low  chattel 
rate  of  $500  each,  we  find  an  actual  loss  to  the  "sequestered 
counties, "  caused  by  the  unequal  division  of  thp  bounty  of  the 
State,  amounting  to  the  enormous  sum  of  $42,150,500.  It  would 
take  but  a  few  years  more  of  similar  policy  to  m$ke  them  not  only 
the  "  sequestered,"  but  the  sequestrated  counties  of  the  State. 

Thus  it  is  apparent  that  the  policy  of  the  State  towards  the 
counties  interested  in  this  road  has  been  most  disastrous,  and  that 
it  is  due  alike  to  the  interest  and  the  sense  of  justice  of  the  whole 
State,  that  full,  prompt,  and  ample  reparation  be  now  made.  It 
cannot  fail  to  be  a  source  of  deep  regret  to  every  citizen,  that  in 
the  midst  of  the  otherwise  universal  prosperity  that  our  system 
of  internal  improvements  has  created,  one-fifth  of  the  State  has 
not  only  been  directly  injured  by  it,  but  has  actually  been  com- 
pelled, year  by  year,  to  pay  for  its  own  destruction.  Schoharie,. 
Otsego,  and  the  isolated  portions  of  Delaware  and  Chenango  have 
had  no  exemption  from  the  taxes  that  have  built  up  the  rest  of 
the  State.  What  share  they  have  had  in  its  benefits,  they  and 
your  committee  are  alike  unable  to  discover.  They  now  ask,  as 
they  share  the  burdens,  to  be  allowed  also  to  participate  in  the 
benefits,  and  they  are  not  prepared  to  be  turned  away  with  the 
cool  assurance  that  they  have  helped  their  brethren  in  other  parts 
of  the  State  so  long,  and  to  so  much,  that  now  the  State  is  too 
poor  to  do  justice,  or  to  give  them  in  return  a  small  share  of  what 
is  so  justly  due  them.  The  very  excess  of  the  liberality  with 
which  they  have  assumed  burdens  for  others,  to  be  made  the  rea- 
son why  they  shall  struggle  on  under  the  influence  of  this  unnatu- 
ral competition,  unaided  and  alone. 

It  is  in  this  view  that  the  application  for  the  partial  relief  of 


No.  17.] 


7 


towns  that  have  become  subscribers  to  the  stock  of  the  Albany 
and  Susquehanna  railroad  has  peculiar  force.  The  debt  contracted 
for  the  benefit  of  Oneida  or  Monroe,  is  equally  the  debt  of  Scho- 
harie and  Otsego.  But  the  debt  of  Schoharie  and  Otsego,  con- 
tracted for  the  same  objects  of  public  good,  and  proportionally 
much  less  in  amount,  they  must  bear  alone. 

Every  principle  of  justice  and  right,  requires  that  the  State 
should  assume  it,  and  place  them  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the 
other  counties  of  the  State.  Had  they  asked  to  be  relieved  from 
the  whole  of  it,  the  committee  cannot  see  how  so  just  a  claim 
could  have  been  denied. 

The  committee  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  a  dis- 
tinction has  sometimes  been  attempted  to  be  drawn  between  pub- 
lic works,  constructed  entirely  by  the  people  of  the  State,  and 
those  where  they  delegate  the  power  to  build  them  to  a  portion 
of  the  people  associated  together  as  a  company  for  that  purpose. 
They  are  unable  to  discover  in  this  distinction,  anything  but  a 
very  thin  covering  for  the  spirit  that,  having  got  all  that  it  can 
get,  seeks,  by  every  possible  pretext,  to  avoid  doing  anything  in 
return.  Followed  to  its  legitimate  result,  it  establishes  the  prin- 
ciple that  a  State  cannot  help  a  college,  unless  it  refuses  individu- 
al aid ;  that  it  cannot  clear  out  the  navigation  of  a  river,  unless 
the  inhabitants  upon  its  banks  let  it  entirely  alone ;  that  it  can- 
not build  one  quarter  of  a  railroad,  where  the  want  is  so  urgent 
that  the  people  along  the  line  are  ready  to  build  the  other  three- 
quarters  themselves,  but  that  if  they  will  refuse  to  aid  it,  the 
State  may  then  build  it  all ;  that  they  cannot  do  what  is  now 
asked,  but  if  they  will  ask  four  times  as  much,  it  shall  have  most 
respectful  consideration. 

This  wholesale  munificence  wrould  be  as  welcome  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Schoharie  and  Susquehanna,  as  it  has  been  elsewhere,  and  if 
the  State  is  now  disposed  to  exercise  it  there,  the  committee  have 
no  dcubt  that  it  can  at  once  obtain  such  full  surrender  of  individ- 
ual and  corporate  rights,  as  would  remove  the  last  vestage  of  an 
objection  on  that  account. 

Believing  that  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  justice  of  the  claim 
made  by  the  citizens  of  this  "  sequestered  section  "  of  the  State, 
the  committee  do  not  propose  to  argue  its  policy  at  any  length. 
The  State  of  New  York  is  not  yet  poor  enough  to  be  deliberately 
unjust,  or  selfish  enough  to  say  by  its  majorities,  "  We  have  the 
power  and  have  taken  all,  and  there  is  nothing  left  for  you  !" 


8 


[Senate 


But  the  teachings  of  experience  elsewhere  prove  beyond  con- 
tradiction, that  the  many  millions  increase  in  the  taxable  prop- 
erty of  that  part  of  the  State,  that  would  follow  the  construction 
of  this  railroad,  would  in  a  few  years,  be  an  ample  equivalent  for 
the  sum  that  the  State  is  now  asked  to  contribute.    In  addition 
to  this,  the  improvement  in  the  condition  and  comfort  of  the  peo- 
ple,— the  greater  advantages  that  would  be  afforded  to  busi- 
ness,— the  development  of  resources  that  are  now  valueless, 
because  unavailable,  and  the  new  market  that  would  be  created 
for  the  productions  of  other  portions  of  the  State,  all  combine  to 
make  it  the  highest  interest,  and  therefore  the  highest  duty  of  the 
whole  State,  to  do  at  once  whatever  is  necessary  to  secure  the  com- 
pletion of  this  road.    The  committee  are  fully  satisfied  that  if  no 
other  result  were  to  follow  but  the  furnishing  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  people  with  coal,  at  the  rates  that  it  would  be  supplied  by 
this  road,  that  the  actual  saving  in  its  cost,  aside  from  its  effect 
upon  the  growth  of  business  and  the  comfort  of  Yhe  people,  wrould 
be  a  larger  dividend  upon  the  sum  that  is  asked  for,  than  is  now 
received  for  any  money  ever  invested  by  the  State.    The  commit- 
tee have  had  evidence  submitted  to  them,  that  has  satisfied  them 
that  the  price  of  coal  in  the  northern  and  northeastern  part  of 
the  State,  will  be  reduced  by  the  opening  of  this  road  nearly  or 
quite  one  dollar  per  ton.    The  competition  produced  by  having  a 
new  source  of  supply,  and  one  that  was  open  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  would  of  itself  cause  a  considerable  reduction.    The  commit- 
tee have,  for  greater  safety,  preferred  to  assume  but  fifty  cents 
per  ton,  as  a  saving  to  be  thus  effected,  and  to  apply  it  only  to*  the 
quantity  that  is  now  received  and  consumed  or  distributed  from 
Albany  and  Troy  in  each  year.    The  lowest  estimate  makes  that 
quantity  over  300,000  tons,  and  the  direct  actual  benefit  to  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  those  cities,  and  to  the  people  of  that 
part  of  the  State,  wrould  not  be  less  than  $150,000  per  anuum. 
Surely  in  such  a  case,  a  liberality  wise  enough  to  understand,  and 
enlarged  enough  to  make  secure  the  immediate  completion  of  such  a 
work,  is  the  truest  economy,  even  for  a  State  that  is  somewhat  in  debt. 

In  connection  with  this  interest,  the  committee  have  much  sat- 
isfaction in  referring  to  the  wise  suggestions  contained  in  the  first 
annual  message  of  His  Excellency,  Governor  Morgan,  in  which  he 
says  : 

•'  We  have  no  deposits  of  coal  within  our  limits.  It  should, 
therefore,  be  our  object,  to  open  channels  and  avenues  of  inter- 


No.  17.] 


9 


communication  with  our  neighboring  State  of  Pennsylvania,  for 
the  easy  and  rapid  transit  through  our  canals  and  over  our  rail- 
roads, of  that  necessary  article  of  domestic  fuel,  the  use  of  which 
also,  enters  so  largely  into  all  our  industrial  occupations." 

These  views  the  committee  cordially  endorse.  The  State  has 
hardly  any  interest  more  important  than  cheap  fuel,  and  every 
improvement  that  tends  to  secure  it,  deserves,  and  should  receive 
its  fostering  care.  Every  intelligent  mind  will  see  at  a  glance  the 
importance  to  the  whole  State  of  having  the  resources  of  so  large 
a  part  of  it  more  fully  developed.  In  opening  this  avenue  to  the 
coal  regions,  the  north  will  have  additional  means  to  make  avail- 
able its  rich  mineral  resources — the  east  a  new  stimulus  to  give 
life  and  activity  to  its  manufactures,  while  the  south,  including 
the  "  great  metropolis,"  is  always  benefited  by  every  improvement 
which  opens  up  and  enriches  any  part  of  the  country,  and  the 
west  will  have  an  increased  market,  and  a  larger  field  for  its  salt 
and  gypsum,  and  the  additional  revenue  to  all  parts  of  the  State 
by  the  increase  of  its  taxable  property  will,  in  a  few  years,  more 
than  pay  the  comparatively  small  sum  now  asked  for. 

It  is  also  apparent  that  the  southern  part  of  the  State  is  now 
subjected  to  a  heavy  tax  in  its  communication  with  the  capital. 
By  the  construction  of  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna  road  a  saving 
of  distance  of  about  ninety  miles  will  be  made,  as  compared  with 
the  route  by  way  of  Syracuse,  and  220  miles  as  compared  with 
the  almost  as  expeditious  and  easy  route  by  way  of  New  York. 
The  traveler  bound  for  Albany,  when  at  Binghamton,  is  within 
140  miles  of  his  destination,  and  when  he  has  reached  Syracuse, 
after  a  four  hours'  journey  of  80  miles,  is  then  about  ten  miles 
farther  off  than  when  he  started.  As  a  public  convenience,  this 
road  has  the  strongest  claims  upon  the  favorable  consideration  of 
the  Legislature.  It  will  also,  in  connection  with  the  Syracuse  and 
Binghamton  road,  furnish  increased  facilities  for  distributing  the 
salt  and  gypsum  from  Onondaga  and  Cayuga  counties,  now  spar- 
ingly used  and  scantily  supplied,  through  the  entire  section  to  be 
traversed  by  this  road,  in  consequence  of  the  heavy  cost  of  trans- 
portation. 

.The  committee  have  also  given  due  consideration  to  the  alleged 
condition  of  the  treasury,  but  they  have  been  unable  to  discover 
its  applicability  or  force.  If  the  treasury  is  depleted,  it  is  be- 
cause its  whole  resources  have  been  taken  for  themselves  by  other 
parts  of  the  State.    The  section  to  be  aided  by  this  road  has  had 


10 


[Senate 


no  share.  The  mode  of  supplying  the  deficiency  is  "known  of  all 
men,"  and  the  fact  that  the  tax  necessary  for  this  purpose  is 
only  the  payment  of  a  part  of  the  debt  that  by  the  great  princi- 
ples of  equal  rights  is  due  to  these  petitioners,  is  a  reason  not  to 
be  controverted;  why  it  should  be  unanimously  imposed  and 
cheerfully  paid.  Repudiation  has  not  yet  found  its  home  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  it  will  not  now  develop  itself  in  reference 
to  a  claim  that  does  not  even  urge  its  payment  upon  the  basis  of 
the  golden  rule  that  the  majority  shall  rt  do  as  they  would  be  done 
by,"  but  modestly  falls  back  upon  the  humbler  footing  that  they 
shall  do  as  they  have  been  done  by.  As  the  measure  proposed  sup- 
plies the  means  of  its  own  fulfillment,  the  committee  cannot  dis- 
cover that  it  should  justly  be  influencd  in  any  manner,  by  any 
supposed  wants  of  the  State  in  other  directions,  which,  however 
meritorious  and  urgent  as  questions  of  policy,-are  yet,  as  com- 
pared with  this  application j  wholly  deficient  in  the  great  elements 
of  justice  and  right.  The  other  portions  of  the  State — now  rich 
and  prosperous — have  had  repeated  and  large  appropriations, 
and  for  whose  benefit  the  secluded  counties  interested  in  the 
Albany  and  Susquehanna  road  have  incurred  a  share  of  the  State 
debt  amounting  to  several  times  the  sum  that  they  now  ask  for, 
and  the  most  sanguine  friends  of  the  canals  will  not  deny  that  for 
several  years,  at  least,  taxation  will  have  to  be  resorted  to  for 
paying  the  canal  debt,  although  the  gratifying  fact  has  been  dis- 
closed the  past  year,  of  an  increase  in  the  canal  revenues  over  the 
previous  year  of  nearly  one  million  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Between  individuals  such  a  claim  could  not  be  met  with  even  hesi- 
tation, without  a  forfeiture  of  all  claim  to  rank  with  honest  and 
honorable  men.  Is  the  State  above  all  the  laws  of  honesty  and 
honor  that  govern  private  citizens?  Are  the  people,  in  the 
aggregate,  ready  to  do  that  which,  in  the  individual,  they  would 
despise?  The  committee  do  not  so  understand  them,  and  they 
cannot  doubt  that  their  action  will  justify  the  confidence  that  is 
reposed  in  them. 

But  the  argument  in  relation  to  the  condition  of  the  treasury, 
loses  much  of  its  force,  when  subjected  to  a  more  critical  exami- 
nation. The  only  reason  why  the  treasury  is  not  overflowing,  is 
because  the  people  have  not  willed  to  have  it  so.  By  not  increas- 
ing their  tolls,  the  canals,  that  have  depleted  it,  have  built  up  an 
aggregate  of  wealth  many  fold  greater  than  their  cost.  The  three 
million  dollars  given  to  the  Erie  road  secured  its  completion  and 


No.  17.]  11 

added  more  than  twenty  times  that  sum  to  the  taxable  property  of 
the  State.  It  would  be  a  very  narrow  policy  for  a  great  people 
to  look  only  to  the  revenue  to  its  treasury,  and  ignore  entirely 
the  benefits  that  result  to  the  people  themselves.  The  canals, 
estimated  by  the  usurer's  standard,  would  not  subject  the  State 
to  the  penalties  for  usury ;  but,  measured  by  the  great  prosperity 
which  they  have  created,. the  wealth  they  have  diffused,  and  the 
blessings  they  have  secured  for  all  coming  time,  they  are  and  will 
continue  to  be  an  investment  of  priceless  value.  The  tolls  paid 
upon  them  are  but  a  tithe  of  their  annual  direct  benefit  to  the 
State.  The  much  larger  sum  paid  for  transportation,  much  of  it 
by  the  citizens  of  other  States,  is  so  much  added  wealth.  The 
greater  part  of  it  being  disbursed  among  farmers,  mechanics  and 
laborers,  is  precisely  as  legitimate  a  revenue  to  the  people  them- 
selves as  the  tolls  are  to  the  public  treasury.  The  argument  that 
they  do  not  furnish  revenue  enough,  so  but  that  the  State  is  too 
poor  to  grant  the  aid  now  asked  for,  is  precisely  equivalent  to  say- 
ing, we  keep  nine-tenths  of  our  real  income  from  these  great  im- 
provements in  our  pockets,  not  allowing  it  to  get  into  the  treasury, 
and  then  plead  the  emptiness  thereto  save  ourselves  from  disgorg- 
ing a  fair  proportion  of  the  profits  we  have  made. 

The  committee  are  not  unmindful  of  the  allegation,  that  the 
proposed  aid  would  inaugurate  a  new  policy.  To  those  acquainted 
with  past  legislation,  here  and  elsewhere,  no  answer  will  be  re- 
quired to  this  unfounded  suggestion.  But  inasmuch  as  all  have 
not  carefully  examined  it,  they  have  preferred  to  go  to  "  the  re- 
cords of  our  fathers,"  and  learn  there  the  lessons  they  have  taught, 
and  the  example  they  have  left  us.  As  early  at  1792,  and  the 
years  immediately  subsequent,  appropriations  were  made  by  the 
State  government,  amounting  to  more  than  fifty  thousand  pounds, 
(a  sum  much  larger  in  proportion  to  the  then  resources  of  the  State 
than  is  now  asked  for)  as  a  I1  free  gift  v  to  the  Lock  Navigation 
Companies  that  were  then  preparing  the  way  for  the  Erie  and 
Champlain  canals,  for  the  avowed  object  of  aiding  them  in  "de- 
veloping the  resources  of  sequestered  portions  of  the  State." 
That  wise  Governor,  George  Clinton,  clarum  et  venerabile  nomen, 
in  his  annual  message  of  1794,  announced  with  evident  gratifica- 
tion, the  payment  of  one  of  the  instalments,  that  the  progress 
made  by  the  companies  had  entitled  them  to  receive  from  the 
State.    He  says  : 

"  The  Northern  and  Western  companies  of  inland  lock  naviga- 


12  [Senate 

tion,  having  agreeably  to  law,  produced  authentic  accounts  of 
their  expenditures,  I  have  given  the  necessary  certificate  to  enti- 
tle them  to  receive  ten  thousand  pounds,  as  a  free  gift  on  the  part 
of  this  State,  toward  the  prosecution  of  those  interesting  objects. 
Although  the  care  of  improving  and  opening  these  navigations  be 
committed  to  private  companies,  they  will  require,  and  no  doubt 
from  time  to  time  receive,  from  the  Legislature,  every  fostering 
aid  and  patronage  commensurate  to  the  great  public  advantages 
which  must  result  from  the  improvements  of  intercourse."  These 
were  wise  words,  and  they  have  lost  none  of  their  significance 
now.    It  will  not  be  denied,  that  it  is  one  of  the  first  duties  of 
every  civilized  government,  to  aid  in  thus  opening  up  and. devel- 
oping the  resources  of  their  territory,  and  in  accordance  there- 
with, we  find  appropriations  for  roads  and  bridges,  running  all 
through  the  legislation  of  the  State.    The  clearing  out  of  rivers, 
where  their  channels  were  obstructed,  has  been  one  of  its  constant 
cares.    Institutions  of  learning  have  been  built  up  in  different 
sections  of  the  State,  by  appropriations  of  the  public  funds,  because 
the  common  good  required  it;  its  noble  charities  have  been  gener- 
ously fostered,  because  it  was  right  and  wise  to  do  so.    A  free 
people  are  never  so  truly  great,  as  when  they  are  intelligently 
and  wisely  making  sacrifices  to  advance  the  common  weal.  Neither 
constitutional  abstractions,  or  party  necessities,  should  override 
the  "  higher  law"  that  commands  us  to  "  be  just"  and  to  "  do  good." 
The  only  principle  that  can  justify  the  taking  the  money  of  one 
portion  of  the  community  who  have  no  chileren,  without  their 
consent,  to  sustain  our  schools  and  to  educate  the  children  of  their 
neighbors,  is  the  same  upon  which  these  petitioners  now  ask  the 
aid  of  the  State,  that  it  is  just  and  right,  that  common  good  requires 
it,  and  a  wise  policy  for  the  present  and  future  imperatively  demands 
it. 

If  we  look  abroad  we  shall  find  examples  that  will  furnish  us 
but  little  reason  tcplume  ourselves  upon  our  public  spirit.  The 
large  grants  of  land  made  by  the  government  of  the  United  States 
in  aid  of  railroads — the  liberal  assistance  given  them  by  Tennes- 
see, Virginia,  and  other  States,  and  the  direct  action  of  the  State 
of  Massachusetts  recently,  in  aid  of  the  Hoosic  tunnel,  to  the 
amount  of  $2,000,000,  are  all  cases  that  apply  with  great  force 
here.  The  government  of  Great  Britain,  at  home  and  in  its  Colo- 
nies, has  been  ever  ready  to  advance  its  credit  or  its  money,  to 
aid  in  the  development  of  "  sequestered  "  regions,  in  building  ca- 


No.  17.1  13 

nals  and  railroads  The  wealth  of  its  whole  people  has  been  libe- 
rally expended,  to  sustain  and  advance  ocean  steam  navigation, 
although  carried  on  by  private  companies,  and  the  commercial 
sceptre  that  we  had  already  grasped,  has  been  wrested  from  us, 
not  because  they  were  able  unaided  to  take  it,  but  because  our 
citizens  alone  were  not  able  to  resist  them  and  their  government 
combined. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe,  railroads  and  other  public  improve- 
ments have  been  sustained  and  supported  by  guarantees,  or  direct 
aid,  by  governments  that  we  are  accustomed  to  regard  as  not 
recognizing  the  great  principle  of  our  political  faith,  that  they 
"ought  only  to  exist  for  the  good  of  the  governed;"  and  even 
Russia,  so  recently  emerged  from  barbarism,  spreads  uncounted 
millions  upon  her  great  railroads,  and  then  proposes  to  place  them 
in  the  hands  of  private  companies,  because  they  can  be  so  much 
better  managed  than  when  owned  by  the  State.  Government 
never  has  such  right  to  claim  that  it  was  "instituted  of  God"  as 
when  it  lends  itself  with  all  its  energies  to  develop  the  resources, 
protect  the  labor,  encourage  the  industry,  enlarge  the  commerce, 
and  promote  the  happiness  of  its  people.  The  State  of  New  York 
has  had  no  more  loyal  children  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  Schoharie 
and  Susquehanna  valleys,  and  although  among  her  eldest,  they  are 
not  prepared  to  be  turned  away  from  her  now  with  a  step-mother's 
averted  looks  and  cold  neglect.  In  asking  only  the  aid  that  gov- 
ernments far  less  just  than  our  own  habitually  bestow,  they  do  not 
expect  to  be  sent  empty  away. 

The  amount  of  aid  to  be  afforded  has  also  received  the  careful 
consideration  of  the  committee.  It  is  manifestly  true  economy  to 
go  far  enough  to  prevent  the  present  resources  of  the  company 
from  being  lost,  and  to  enable  them  to  put  their  road  in  operation 
with  the  least  possible  delay.  The  committee  believe  that  the 
sum  asked  for  by  the  petitioners  will  be  sufficient  for  the  purpose, 
and  that  a  less  sum  would  be  inadequate  therefor.  By  making  it 
payable  in  instalments  only  when  portions  of  the  work  are  com- 
pleted and  brought  into  operation,  all  danger  can  be  avoided  of 
the  money  being  used  without  securing  a  corresponding  public 
benefit.  The  justice  that  requires  the  State  to  assist  them  is 
equally  imperative  that  the  assistance  should  be  adequate  to  its 
object ;  and  it  is  as  wise  as  it  is  just,  to  meet  the  whole  obligation 
in  the  way  to  make  it  do  the  most  good.  By  extending  the  time 
for  the  collection  of  the  necessary  tax  over  two  years,  the  amount 


14 


[Senate 


to  be  paid  each  year  will  be  only  about  eighteen  cents  upon  each 
one  thousand  dollars  of  valuation — a  sum  so  small  that  cupidity 
itself  can  hardly  object  to  its  imposition. 

In  conclusion,  the  committee  would  sum  up  the  whole  matter 
with  the  following  extract  from  the  first  message  of  Gov."  Clinton, 
delivered  January  27th,  1818  : 

"  The  internal  trade  of  a  country  is  equally  essential  to  the 
prosperity  of  agriculture,  of  manufactures,  and  of  commerce;  for, 
embracing  the  interests  of  all,  it  extends  its  enlivening  influence 
to  every  department  of  human  industry.'  But  it  can  never  be 
advantageously  nor  extensively  pursued  and  cultivated  without 
easy  and  rapid  communications  by  water  courses,  roads  and  canals ; 
and  it  is  among  the  first  duties  of  government  to  facilitate  the 
transportation  of  commodities,  by  opening  and  ameliorating  all 
the  channels  of  beneficial  intercourse,  for  in  peace  or  in  war  it  is 
equally  essential  to  our  cardinal  interests." 

Having  arrived  at  these  conclusions,  the  committee  have  pre- 
pared a  bill  in  conformity  therewith,  and  earnestly  recommend  its 
passage.  They  believe  that  it  is  just  and  right,  and  that  if  its 
claims  were  otherwise  less  conclusive,  yet  that  the  best  interests 
of  the  State  would  imperatively  require  its  immediate  passage. 
They  hope  it  may  receive,  as  they  know  it  deserves,  the  unani- 
mous vote  of  the  Legislature. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

J.  H.  RAMSEY. 


The  undersigned,  of  the  select  committee  to  which  was  referred 
the  petitions  for  aid  to  build  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna  rail- 
road, refer  to  their  report  made  at  the  last  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature, as  containing,  substantially,  their  views  as  to  the  justice  of 
the  claim,  and  the  great  benefit  its  recognition  would  confer  on 
an  isolated  portion  of  the  State. 

In  view  of  the  present  state  of  public  affairs,  they  are  unwilling 
to  commit  themselves  to  an  unqualified  report  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  to  a  larger  amount  than  is  provided  by  the  bill  herewith 
introduced ;  and  even  to  that  extent,  they  are  of  opinion  that  the 
favorable  consideration  of  it  should  be  governed  by  the  proba- 
bility of  an  increase  of  our  debt,  from  unavoidable  causes. 

THOMAS  HILLHOUSE. 
RICHARD  B.  CONNOLLY. 


No.  17.] 


15 


*  Your  committee  beg  leave,  in  this  connection,  to  refer  to  a  few 
cases  showing  the  effects  of  building  railroads,  in  this  and  other 
States. 

In  the  case  of  the  New  York  and  Erie  railroad,  the  increase  of 
the  taxable  property  of  that  part  of  the  State  affected  by  its  con- 
struction, has  been  at  least  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  And 
in  that  of  the  Hudson  River  road,  built  along  one  of  the  finest 
rivers  in  the  world,  navigable  three-fourths  of  the  year,  the  increase 
has  been  from  one  to  two  hundred  per  cent,  and  in  some  cases 
much  larger.  The  railroads  of  Massachusetts  have  increased  the 
valuation  of  that  State,  between  the  years  of  1840  and  1850,  from 
$290,000,000  to  $580,000,000,  and  this  in  an  old  and  populous 
State,  where  the  lands  are  poor  compared  with  our  own  State. 

In  Tennessee,  the  building  of  the  Nashville  and  Chattanooga 
railroad,  almost  immediately  after  its  completion,  created  a  value 
by  its  influence  on  real  estate,  to  about  five  times  its  cost,  adding 
at  least  sixty  millions  to  the  taxable  property  of  the  State. 

It  is  said  that  the  railroads  of  Vermont,  which  have  cost 
$30,000,000,  have  increased  the  taxabble  property  of  the  State 
$90,000,000 ;  and  that  the  3,000  miles  of  railroads  in  Ohio  have 
added  to  the  value  of  landed  property  in  that  State  $300,000,000, 
which  is  at  least  five  times  the  cost  of  all  their  roads. 

It  is,  perhaps,  fair  to  estimate  the  present  marketable  value  of 
the  lands  within  ten  miles  on  each  side  of  the  proposed  road  at 
$25  per  acre ;  and  if  we  allow  only  twenty-five  per  cent  for  in- 
creased value  given  them  by  the  construction  of  the  road,  it  will 
give  an  amount  exceeding  $12,000,000,  to  say  nothing  of  its  influ- 
ence outside  of  the  estimated  lines,  and  within  the  counties  of 
Albany  and  Broome  at  its  terminii.  That  $8,000,000  may  be  safely 
estimated  for  the  road  itself  and  the  increase  in  the  counties  of 
Albany  and  Broome,  making  in  all  at  least  $20,000,000  increase 
in  the  taxable  property  of  the  State. 


16 


EN  ATE 


TABLE, 

Shaving  the  length  and  cost  of  each  of  the  canals  constructed  by  the 
State,  up  to  the  year  1859,  taken  from  the  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Canal  Fund  for  1858. 


Canals. 


Length. 
Miles. 


Cost. 


Erie  canal,  original  cost  372 

Champlain,  do    81 


Enlargement. 


j  $11,500,000 
27,500,000 


Black  River  canal   90 

Chenango  canal    97 

Oswego  canal  _   38 

Oneida  Lake  canal   6 

Oneida  River  improvement   20 

Seneca  River  towing  path   5 

Cayuga  and  Seneca  canal   23 

Cayuga  inlet     2 

Crooked  Lake  canal   8 

Chemung  canal  and  feeder   39 

Genesee  Yalley  canal    118 


899 


To  this  should  be  added  the  loan  authorized  by  the 
last  Legislature  to  pay  floating  debt  created  by 
Canal  Commissioners    


Total. 


$39,000,000 
3,000,000 
2,512,000 
2,225,000 
50,000 

87,600 

1,000,000 

305,000 
841,000 
5,462,500 

$54,483,000 


2,500,000 


Making  the  total  for  construction  of  canals  to  and 

including  1858   __   $56,983,000 

The  total  payments  by  the  State  for  and  on 
account  of  her  canals  up  to  the  year  1859,  includ- 
ing interest  and  cost  of  repairs,  was   144,000,000 

To  this  add  the  loan  authorized  by  the  Legislature 

of  last  year,..   2,500,000 

And  it  makes  a  total  of   $146,500,000 

From  which  deduct  tolls  received,   69,000,000 


$77,500,000 


This  immense  sum  has  been  raised  mainly  as  follows  : 

By  various  loans,  &c,  _   $57,725,000 

By  taxes  levied,   3,147,190 

Auction  and  salt  duties,   5,650,000 


No.  17.]  IT 

Steamboat  tax,   $73,000 

Sales  of  lands,  _   320,000 

General  Fund,   1,390,000 

The  balance  from  interest  on  deposits  and  investments,  and  from 
miscellaneous  sources. 


Schedule  of  Appropriations  and  Loans  to  Railroad  Companies'  by 

the  Legislature. 

1.  Act  passed  April  23,  1836,  authorizing  the  issue  of  State 
stocks,  to  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  company,  $3,000,000. 

2.  An  act  passed  April  18,  1838,  authorising  a  loan  to  the  Cana- 
joharie  and  Catskill  Railroad  company,  $200,000. 

3.  An  act  passed  April  18,  1838,  authorizing  a  loan  to  the  Au- 
burn and  Syracuse  Railroad  company,  $200,000. 

4.  An  act  passed  April  18,  1838,  authorizing  a  loan  to  the 

Ithaca  and  Oswego  Railroad  company,  $200,000 

And  by  act  of  1840,  to  the  same.   100,000 

$300,000 


5.  An  act  passed  April  18,  1838,  authorizing  a  survey  of  a  rail- 
road from  Ogdensburgh  to  Lake  Champlain,  and  appropriating 
therefor  $4,000.    See  Session  Laws,  1839. 

6.  Act  passed  May  14,  1840,  to  provide  for  a  survey  of  the 
several  routes,  for  a  railroad  from  Ogdensburgh  to  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  expense  to  be  audited  and  paid  by  the  Comptroller. 

7.  Chapt.  299,  Laws  of  1840,  authorizing  a  loan  to  the  Schenec- 
tady and  Troy  Railroad  company,  of  $100,000. 

8.  An  act  passed  April  29,  1840,  making  a  loan  to  the  Auburn 
and  Rochester  Railroad  company,  $200,000. 

9.  Act  passed  April  28,  1840,  making  a  loan  to  the  Hudson  and 
Berkshire  Railroad  company,  §150, 000. 

10.  Act  passed  April  29,  1840,  making  a  loan  to  the  Long 
Island  Railroad  company,  $100,000. 

11.  Act  passed  May  14,  1840,  making  a  loan  to  the  Tioga  Iron 
Mining  and  Manufacturing  Co.,  (now  Corning  and  Blossburg  Rail- 
Road  Co.,)  $70,000. 

12.  Act  passed  May  1,  1840,  making  loan  to  the  Tonawanda 
Railroad  company,  $100,000. 


[Senate,  No.  17.] 


IS 


[Senate 


Synopsis  of  legislative  enactments  making  appropriations  for  the 
construction  of  roads  and  bridges,  and  for  the  improvement  of  the 
navigation  of  rivers. 

An  act  passed  March  1G,  1790,  appointing  commissioners  for 
exploring,  laying  out,  and  opening  roads  in  different  parts  of  tlie 
State,  and  appropriating  nineteen  hundred  pounds  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

Another  act  passed  March  24,  1791,  for  the  purpose  of  improv- 
ing roads  and  inland  navigation,  which  appropriates  five  hundred 
pounds  for  that  purpose. 

An  act  passed  April  6,  1790,  appropriates  for  the  laying  out 
and  making  roads  and  bridges,  eleven  hundred  pounds,  specifying 
the  routes  through  different  parts  of  the  State. 

An  act  passed  April  10,  1792,  for  "laying  ojit,  repairing  and 
improving  certain  public  roads  and  highways  within  the  State," 
and  appropriates  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  pounds,  to  be  paid 
over  to  commissioners  appointed  under  the  act:  also  two  hundred 
and  thirty  pounds  for  opening  a  road  from  the  head  of  Cayuga 
lake  to  Owe  go. 

An  act  establishing  and  opening  lock  navigation  within  this 
State,  passed  March  30,  1792,  two  companies  established,  one  for 
the  purpose  of  opening  a  lock  navigation  from  the  navigable  part 
of  Hudson's  river  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  to  Seneca  lake,  known  as 
the  Western  Inland  Lock  navigation  company  in  the  State  of  New 
York;  and  the  other  known  as  the  President,  Directors  and  Com- 
pany of  the  Northern  Inland  Lock  Navigation  Company,  with  a 
preamble  as  follows : 

"  Whereas,  a  communication  by  water  between  the  southern, 
northern  and  western  parts  of  this  State,  will  encourage  agricul- 
ture^ promote  commerce,  and  facilitate  general  intercourse  between 
the  citizens,  for  the  encouragement  of  the  said  corporations  respect- 
ively, and  to  enable  them  to  prosecute  the  objects  for  which  they  were 
respectively  instituted,  with  ths  greater  dispatch  and  efficiency." 

"  Be  it  further  enacted,  &c,"  makes  an  appropriation  of  $12,500 
to  be  paid  to  the  president  and  directors  of  each  corporation  for 
the  use  of  the  stockholders  thereof,  as  a  "free  gift  to  them  from 
the  people  of  this  State,"  when  it  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  the 
Governor,  by  satisfactory  proof,  that  each  of  said  companies  had 
expended  and  laid  out,  in  the  prosecution  of  said  inland  naviga- 
tion, the  sum  of  $25,000. 

An  act  was  passed  31st  March,  1795,  authorising  the  Treasurer 


No.  17.]  19 

of  the  State  to  subscribe  two  hundred  shares  to  the  stock  of  each 
of  said  companies,  and  to  pay  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds  on  each 
share  to  the  treasurer  of  said  companies?  being  a  like  sum  that 
has  been  paid  by  existing  stockholders,  and  the  balance  to  be 
paid,  when  required,  by  the  directors  of  said  companies,  the  same 
as  other  stockholders. 

By  an  act  passed  11th  April,  1796,  the  State  loaned  the  said 
company  fifteen  thousand  pounds  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  treas- 
ury unappropriated,  to  be  secured  by  bond  and  mortgage  on  real 
estate  of  the  company,  at  Little  Falls,  on  the  Mohawk  river. 

An  act  to  provide  for  the  improvement  of  the  internal  naviga- 
tion of  the  State,  passed  April,  8.  1811,  with  a  preamble  as  fol- 
lows : 

Whereas,  a  communication  by  means  of  a  canal  navigation 
between  the  great  lakes  and  Hudson's  river,  will  encourage  agri- 
culture, promote  commerce  and  manufactures,  facilitate  a  free  and 
general  intercourse  between  the  different  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  tend  to  the  aggrandizement  and  prosperity  of  the 
country,  and  consolidate  and  strengthen  the  Union.  Therefore 
be  it  enacted,'7  &c. 

The  act  provides  for  the  appointment  of  Stephen  "Van  Rensse- 
laer, De  Witt  Clinton  and  others,  as  commissioners,  to  make  appli- 
cation to  Congress  and  to  the  Legislature  of  other  States  to 
obtain  means  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  and  to  ascertain 
the  terms  upon  which  the  Western  Inland  Lock  Navigation  Com- 
pany would  surrender  their  rights  and  appropriates  $15,000  for 
that  purpose. 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Seneca  Lock  Navigation  Company, 
passed  April  10,  1813. 

§  8.  Provides  that  whenevor  one  thousand  shares  shall  have 
been  subscribed,  the  Comptroller  of  the  State  is  required  to  sub- 
scribe, on  behalf  of  the  State,  five  hundred  shares  of  $25  each, 
and  to  draw  his  warrant  upon  the  Treasurer,  to  pay  the  same 
from  time  to  time  as  required. 

An  act  relative  to  the  opening  of  a  road  between  the  city  of 
Albany  and  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  passed  March  14,  1814,  appro- 
priates $20,000  for  that  purpose. 

An  act  pa?sed  April  12,  1815,  provides  for  taxing  the  lands 
along  a  portion  of  the  route,  to  pay  expenses  for  opening  the  road 
and  appropriates  $3,000  out  of  the  State  treasury  for  the  same 
purpose. 


20 


[Senate 


An  act  passed  April  6,  1814,  appropriates  $5,000  for  improving 
the  road  from  the  village  of  Angelica,  in  the  county  of  Allegany, 
to  the  village  of  Hamilton,  in  the  county  of  Cattaraugus. 

An  act  passed  April  13,  1814,  appropriates  $1,750  for  making 
and  repairing  a  road,  from  the  village  of  Deposit  to  Bettsburgh. 

An  act  passed  February  13,  1813,  appropriates  $5,000  to  lay 
out  and  improve  a  road  from  Hadley  Landing,  to  the  great  road 
leading  from  Glen's  Falls  to  the  Schroon  Lake. 

An  act  passed  April  2,  1813,  appropriates  §5,000,  for  opening 
and  improving  a  road  in  the  town  of  Warrensburgh  in  the  county 
of  Warren,  to  Chesterfield,  Essex  county,  subsequently  increased 
to  $10,000. 

An  act  passed  April  18,  1812,  appropriates  SlO^OOO  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Hudson  river. 

Also  acts  passed  1799,  and  1806,  appropriating  $10,000  in  each 
year  for  that  purpose. 

An  act  passed  April  15,  1814,  appropriates  t$5,000  for  opening 
and  making  a  road  from  the  town  of  Essex  to  the  outlet  of  Lake 
George. 

An  act  passed  April  15,  1814,  appropriates  $2,000  for  opening 
and  making  a  road  from  Hopkinton  to  Northwest  Bay.  [The  Elba 
iron  furnace  is  situate  in  Keene,  and  this  road  is  of  importance  in 
facilitating  the  transportation  of  iron,  &c.,aud  promoting  the  set- 
tlement of  the  county.] 

An  act  passed  April  17,  1816,  in  relation  to  the  improvement 
of  the  internal  navigation  of  the  State,  appropriates  $20,000  to 
explore  the  route  and  obtain  subscriptions  for  a  canal  from  Hud- 
son river  to  Lake  Erie,  and  from  Hudson  river  to  the  navigable 
waters  of  Lake  Champlain. 

An  act  respecting  navigable  communications  between  the  great 
western  and  northern  lakes,  and  the  Atlantic  ocean,  passed  April 
15,  1817,  creating  the  canal  fund  for  that  purpose,  imposes  a  tax 
on  salt  of  12J  cents  per  bushel,  sets  apart  the  auction  duties,  im- 
poses a  tax  of  $1  each  on  steamboat  pas-engers  for  each  and  every 
trip  on  board  any  steamboat  on  the  Hudson  river,  for  any  distance 
over  one  hundred  miles,  and  half  that  sum  for  any  distance  under 
one  hundred  miles.  The  proceeds  of  all  lotteries.  It  also  autho- 
rizes Commissioners  to  raise  $250,000  upon  the  lands  and  real 
estate  laying  along  the  route  of  the  canals,  (Erie  and  Champlain,) 
and  within  twenty-five  miles  of  the  same  on  each  side  thereof. 
An  act  passed  April  10,  1818,  appropriates  $1,000  to  lay  out 


No.  11.]  2J 

and  improve  a  road  through  the  Caneadea  reservation,  in  the  towns 
of  Nunda  and  Caneadea,  Allegany  county. 

An  act  passed  April  2,  1819,  appropriates  $1,500  to  improve  a 
State  road  from  Angelica,  Allegany  county,  to  the  bridge  across 
the  Genesee  river,  near  Yan  Campus  creek. 

An  act  passed  April  16,  1827,  appropriates  $21,000  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Hudson  river. 

An  act  passed  April  16,  1827,  appropriates  $1,000  for  exploring 
and  laying  out  a  road  from  Lake  Champlain  to  Hopkinton,  St. 
Lawrence  county. 

An  act  passed  April  15,  1828,  to  loan  the  Neversink  Navigation 
Company  $10,000. 

An  act  passed  May  26,  1841,  appropriates  $4,000  to  aid  in  re- 
pairing State  road  from  Glen's  Falls  to  Chesterfield. 

An  act  passed  May  26,  1841,  appropriates  $4,000  to  repair  State 
road  through  St.  Regis  reservation,  in  the  county  of  Franklin. 

Chap.  249,  Laws  1850.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  Racket 
river  and  tributaries,  appropriating  $10,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  407,  Laws  1851.  An  act  in  relation  to  the  Oneida  river 
improvement,  appropriates  $20,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  492,  Laws  1851.  An  act  for  improving  the  channel  of 
the  outlet  of  Piseco  lake,  Hamilton  county,  appropriates  $1,000 
for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  362,  Laws  1851.     An  act  for  the  improvement  of  the 
Saranac  river  and  lake,  appropriates  §10.000  for  that  purpose. 
River  Improvements.    Appropriated  for  and  paid  from 

the  treasury  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  Oct.  1,  1854,  $31,250 
Estimates  for  the  next  year,  and  actually  expended  for 

same  purpose  ._   17,500 

$48,750 


An  act  also  appropriating  $2,500  for  the  improvement  of  Black 
river. 

An  act  passed  April  16,  1852,  provides  that  $500  per  mile  be 
appropriated  lor  the  purpose  of  opening  a  road  from  the  forks  of 
the  river  Saranac  to  the  head  of  the  upper  Saranac  lake. 

Chap.  96,  Laws  1852.  Act  amended.  §  1,  provides  that  §5,000 
shall  be  paid  for  making  a  road  along  the  south  branch  of  the 
Saranac  river,  from  the  forks  to  Franklin  Falls,  &c.  §  2,  provides 
that-$ll,812.50  be  appropriated  to  completing  the  road  along  and 


22  [Senate 

near  the  north  branch,  and  along  Rainbow  and  Osgood  ponds, 
instead  of  the  south  side,  as  surveyed.    Passed  April  4,  1853. 

Chap.  235,  Laws  1854.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  Saranac 
river  and  lakes,  appropriates  $5,000  for  the  improvement  of  said 
river. 

Chap.  2G3,  Laws  1853,  appropriates  $329.47  for  improvement  of 
Racket  river, — balance  over  and  above  appropriation  of  1850. 

Chap.  329,  Laws  1853.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  Big 
Chazy  river,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  427,  Laws  1853.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  Ausable 
river,  Essex  county,  appropriates  $6,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  452,  Laws  1853.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  Moose 
river,  &c,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that  purpose? 

Chap.  178,  Laws  1853.  An  act  to  provide  for  draining  the 
Cayuga  marshes  and  swamp  lands,  appropriates  $100,000  for  that 
purpose. 

Chap.  397,  Laws  1854,  appropriates  $700  fior  improvement  of 
Owasco  outlet. 

Chap.  162,  Laws  1854.  An  act  to  improve  the  Racket  river 
and  the  tributaries  thereof,  appropriates  $10,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  163,  Laws  1854.  An  act  to  provide  for  improving  the 
Sacanclaga  river,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  200,  Laws  1854.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  the  West 
Canada  creek,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  205,  Laws  1854.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  the 
Oswegatchie  river,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  210.  Laws  1854.  An  act  to  improve  Grass  river,  St. 
Lawrence  county,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  246,  Laws  1854.  An  act  to  improve  the  south  branch  of 
the  Ausable  river,  Essex  county,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that 
purpose. 

Chap.  157,  Laws  1854.  An  act  for  opening  a  road  in  Franklin 
county,  appropriates  $200  out  of  the  treasury,  and  the  amount 
paid  in  from  that  county  for  highway  purposes. 

Act  chap.  207,  Laws  1848,  giving  Sacketts  Harbor  and  Saratoga 
Railroad  company,  pre-emption  right  to  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  acres  of  land,  at  five  cents  per  acre.  This  pre  emption 
right  was  extended  by  act  chap.  122,  Laws  1855. 

Chap.  163  Laws  1857.  An  act  to  complete  the  improvement 
of  Salmon  river  and  its  tributaries  ;  appropriates  $5,000  for  that 
purpose. 


No.  17.]  23 

Chap.  541,  Laws  1857,  appropriates  $55,000,  in  pursuance  of 
acts  of  1853  and  1856,  for  draining  Cayuga  marshes. 

Chap.  500,  Laws  1859,  appropriates  $13,380.53  for  same  pur- 
pose. 

Chap.  308,  Laws  1859,  appropriates  $3,000  for  building  piers 
for  a  bridge  over  the  Scandaga  river,  in  Hadley,  Saratoga  county. 

Chap.  570,  Laws  1855.  An  act  to  complete  the  improvements 
in  the  upper  level  of  the  Crooked  Lake  canal,  appropriates  $3,500 
for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  185,  Laws  1855.  An  act  for  the  improvement  of  Salmon 
river  and  its  tributaries,  appropriates  $5,000  for  that  purpose. 

Chap.  155,  Laws  1856.  An  act  to  appropriate  money  for  build- 
ing piers  to  a  bridge  across  the  west  branch  of  the  Hudson  river, 
at  the  village  of  Fish  House,  in  Fulton  county,  appropriates 
$3,000  for  that  purpose. 


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